Category — American Idol Season 8

Tatiana Del Toro the nut job actress/model/singer has made it through to the top 36 of American Idol. So it is now down to the American public to decide whether she will make it into the top 12. I don’t think the  judges will give her one of the wildcards but who knows what type of fuckery is going to occur this year.

I must confess I would vote for her, as her meltdowns are so entertaining. Though I don’t think she is the biggest drama queen on the show, that goes to Nathaniel Marshall. Actually I think it looks like a really entertaining and diverse top 36.

News Just In: Joanna Pacitti has been disqualfied from American Idol. Apparently after protests from viewers and blogger she has been deemed ineligible to go on the show. Full story here. This is ridiculous they knew about her background prior to to top 100 week, why did they let it get this far?

The top 36 are: 
“¢ Arianna Afsar, 16, San Diego, Calif.
“¢ Kris Allen, 23, Conway, Ark.
“¢ Kendall Beard, 23, Austin, Texas
“¢ Anne Marie Boskovich, 22, Nashville, Tenn.
“¢ Ricky Braddy, 25, Nashville, Tenn.
“¢ Matt Breitzke, 27, Bixby, Okla.
“¢ Casey Carlson, 20, Minneapolis
“¢ Megan Corkrey, 22, Sandy, Utah
“¢ Tatiana Del Toro, 23, Los Angeles
“¢ Anoop Desai, 21, Chapel Hill, N.C.
“¢ Stephen Fowler, 26, Beachwood, Ohio
“¢ Matt Giraud, 23, Kalamazoo, Mich.
“¢ Danny Gokey, 28, Milwaukee
“¢ Alexis Grace, 20, Memphis, Tenn.
“¢ Mishavonna Henson, 18, Irvine, Calif.
“¢ Allison Iraheta, 16, Los Angeles
“¢ Ju’Not Joyner, 26, Bowie, Md.
“¢ Kai Kalama, 26, San Clemente, Calif.
“¢ Brent Keith, 28, Blanchester, Ohio
“¢ Adam Lambert, 26, Los Angeles
“¢ Jesse Langseth, 25, Minneapolis
“¢ Scott MacIntyre, 23, Scottsdale, Ariz.
“¢ Nathaniel Marshall, 18, Malone, N.Y.
“¢ Kristen McNamara, 22, Napa, Calif.
“¢ Nick Mitchell, 27, Brookfield, Conn.
“¢ Jasmine Murray, 16, Starkville, Miss.
Ң Jorge Nu̱ez, 20, Carolina, Puerto Rico
“¢ Joanna Pacitti, 23, Philadelphia
“¢ Lil Rounds, 23, Memphis, Tenn.
“¢ Michael Sarver, 27, Jasper, Texas
“¢ Von Smith, 22, Kansas City, Mo.
“¢ Jackie Tohn, 27, Los Angeles
“¢ Taylor Vaifanua, 16, Hurricane, Utah
“¢ Jeanine Vailes, 27, Sherman Oaks, Calif.
“¢ Alex Wagner-Trugman, 19, Los Angeles
“¢ Stevie Wright, 16, Phelan, Calif.

If you are watching American Idol Hollywood Week you would not even know Joanna Pacitti was there as she is yet to be featured. Joanna Pacitti, the Carly Smithson of Season 8 Idol has created controversy due to previously having a record contract and also having been on a MTV reality TV show This Crazy Life.

However more news has just come out that Joanna Pacitti also knows two executives who work at Entertainment 19, the company that produces American Idol. The gossip mag Star claims a source attributed to Pacitti that she has referred to a woman named Michelle Young as her “manager” and “best friend,” while saying that a guy named Roger Widynowskiwas a big deal in “helping me get where I am today,” a source attributes to Pacitti

They are the two that work for Entertainment 19. Also all three lived in the same apartment complex for three years. It is all very Melrose Place.

Simon Cowell When He Was 19 - Still They Same Attitude

Kara DioGuardi belittled herself going round two with Katrina Darrell in American Idol’s Hollywood Week.  She was just nasty when she was critiquing her and then when she made it through to round 2 she turned to Simon and said “Did you leave your number in the back room?”. Also as she walked out of the theatre she said ”Bring a pole next time.”.

I mean Katrina is not going to make it into the top 36 so why doesn’t she just chill about it. Some of the songs she has written have probably been sung by singers who are good looking girls with not so strong voices. “Spinning Around” anyone?

Simon Cowell was just having a good time exasperating the female judges with his support for her. Speaking of Simon how hilarious is that photo of him above? It was taken in Antigua in the ’70′s take off the braces and the look and the hairstyle are practically the same.

It was the start of Hollywood Week and the singers had to perform in front of the judges, but there was no second chances if they did not like you it was time to go home.

The judges continued to love Lil Rounds, who I thought was ear splittingly bad, but she got a standing ovation from the judges. This is the difference between American Idol and Australian Idol, they really love the big diva type singers. I am hoping this year they put a variety of singers through to mix the top 36 up a bit.

I presume they are looking to as the punk rocker Emily from Phoenix choked on a No Doubt song and was put through, as was a nice but not fantastic performance from Rose Flack. I think as the competition continues Rose is going to be very much out of her depth.

Jeremy Sarver  an oil rigger may be American Idol’s Luke Dickens. He has a nice voice and they love putting through a “anyone can audition and make it” Idol contestant. By the way does anyone know if Luke ended up getting a record contract?

Speaking of record contracts, the girl who had one Joanna Pacitti was not sighted during this episode, are they trying to keep her underwraps to prevent a viewer backlash?

Von Smith needed to go out and buy a lottery ticket after  a trully awful performance which Simon Cowell called an  ”indulgent performance” got him through to the second round. 

Nick Mitchell aka Norman who dresses like Richard Symonds but has a persona like Bob Downe scraped into the top 100 with an entertaining audition in New York. I would have placed money on him not going any further, but somehow he scraped through to round two. I expect him to be wiped out by the group song.

Danny Gokey whose wife died recently got Paula Abdul very excitable. Is Paula wanting to be the rebound, as she jumped to her feet and announced that he was ready to record records. I mean he was ok but not sensational.

Jackie Tohn this year’s rock chick hopefully will make through to the top 36 as she is something different with a smokey husky voice, and is the most entertaining person there.

She is probably hoping her singing career is going to take off, as her movie career looks like tanking if this small scene in Postal is anything to go by. Click link here.

Next episode they have to get into groups to perform, this always provides hours of entertainment as they bitch at each other as the fatigue sets in.

If you cannot wait to know who will be in the top 36 here is a list of who they are. I cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information.

Tonight American Idol was inSalt Lake City and not suprisingly an Osmond showed up. You could tell David was an Osmond due to the cheesy song he sang which was Something Within Me  by boy band Take 6.  David Osmond’s uncle is Danny Osmonde, and he definately had the family smile. He got a ticket through to Hollywood, and fingers crossed he does not have a relapse of his mutliple sclerosis beforehand.

I note this week  in both the Jacksonville, and this audition that Randy and Paula were given more air time, so the producers had decided to give us a break from the Kara and Simon show. Also I was glad tonight Kara had covered up her breasts, as last night in the Jacksonville audition she was showing a lot of cleavage. The positive thing about this was I was so distracted by them, I forgot to obsess about whether she had collagen in her lips. Sorry about no recap last night but I have been having computer issues all week.

Tara Matthews  Salt Lake City’s resident medium came dressed as a cross between a goth and a tranvestite (something I presume is illegal in that town). She did a bad rendition of Fly Away, so back to the crystal ball for her. I cannot believe this year the number of contestants who have sung this year who are totally shocked when they are told how crap they are.

Chris Kirkham provided some light relief by bringing a friend dressed up as a pink bunny. For some reason I found it amusing. Sad but true. His voice wasn’t too bad, and I think if he had turned up sans bunny he might have had a better shot at getting the golden ticket.

Megan a 23 year old single mum and font designer (Is that designing fonts for computers? Is that a job?) sang Can’t help Loving That Man showed that if she does not win she can sing in musicals. Apparently Idol contestants are  saving Broadway. Simon loved her as she was different.

Austin Sisneros a 17 year old who is Riverton High School class  President sang a song by Train  he was average, but he got the chance to sing a second song It Takes A Whole Village. He got through to Hollywood, which I was surprised by, I don’t expect to see much of him in top 100 week.

Taylor Vaifanua a 16 year old student who looked and sounded like she was 25 year old.  Her family moved from Samoa to improve her opportunities.  She sang a hymn so clearly the Mormans made a conversion of her families when they were missionaries in the Pacific.

Rose Flack a 17 year old student had the sad tale of her parents dying in her early teens. She sang  I Feel The Earth Move  the Carol King version not the Martika version.  She was an interesting looking girl and could be quite a favourite if she get through to the top 36. Her biggest liability will be whether her voice is strong enough to get her that far.

The auditions in Salt Lake City were much stronger then Jacksonville, and I expect to see a few make the top 36.

Why do parents become enablers for their childrens delusions of their singing ability? A case in point tonight were the parents of Tiffany Shedd. She was postively abysmal, and her parents looked shocked when she did not get through. Clearly they were listening to a different singer then I was.

Tiffany was bad, but Louisville was a surprisingly good audition with a few people who I would not be surprised to see in the top 12 these include:

• Joanna Pacitti – who could be the Carly Smithson of the competition as she has previously had a record contract in LA;
• Brent Keith Smith who is a travelling musician, who at 28 clearly has decided he needs to expand his audience,
• Alexis Grace – a 21 one year old mother and musician di da great job with an Arethra Franklin number, and
• Leneshe Young - who was ballsy enough to sing one of her own songs, and it was great - she is a definate one to watch. 

I am still undecided aout the new judge  Kara DiGuardi as tonight I thought she was being like a girl at school who had finally got into the cool group  and now she was there she was going to be condescending and arrogant to those who are on the out. Not that I am a big fan of Paula’s but at least she is not cruel.

A lot of the time the camera was panning to her she was sniggering at the singers. One person who copped the brunt of this was Rebecca Garcia. After a very ordinary audition Kara goes “it says here [on her application form] that you were voted most humorous at school,” and then “That was a joke right”. Rebecca looked horrifed. Even when Kara realised her mistake she did not look very remorseful.

After treating people with contempt why do they get surprised when the auditionees go a bit loco on them.

Speaking of loco the producers are still putting auditionees with a mental illness on. Mark Mudd a 25 year old parts inspector who could not sing as well as being mentally fragile. The judges laugh and snigger throughout his song, and then they are shocked when the guy goes “Be careful.” in a mildly menacing way.

Paula Abdul pipes up that’s “Not a normal thing to say.”  When are they going to stop using the mentally vulnerable for their entertainment? Two words guys Paula Goodspeed.

Tonight’s American Idol episode was always going to have difficulty in hitting the entertainment heights of the Arizona audition which was screened last night.

How many sassy girls are going to turn up in bikini? Judge Kara DioGuardi was bitching about her the on Ryan Seacrest’s radio program the day after the episode screened. Article on that here.

Or how many blind guys is American Idol host, Ryan Seacrest going to embarrassingly try and hi-five. Oh you missed that well here it is below.

Highlights from Kansas City were:

• Simon Cowell telling Chelsea that her singing sounded like “a cat falling off the Empire State Building.”
• Jason Castro’s brother Michael auditioning with a pink mohawk, the rocky sounding Castrol sibling got through to Hollywood; and
• Still grieving widower Danny getting through to Hollywood, as did his best friend.

The not so good thing:

Now I know this was filmed prior to the Paula Goodspeed suicide outside of Paula Abdul’s house, but when are American Idol producers going to stop using people that are obviously mentally ill. Michael a peroxide blonde boy who had bought in his school medal he had received five years ago for most improved singer is an example.

His singing was always going to be ordinary, and he was not going to have the mental capacity to withstand the rigours of the audition process.  Personally I don’t think it  is funny when the judges laugh at these sods and there are enough other auditioners that are bad but sane to keep the home viewer entertained.

American Idol Season 8 kicked off this evening, and the big change was the new fourth judge Kara DiGuardio. In the pre season Idol frenzy there were all sorts of rumours circulating that this was Paula Abdul’s last season.

But judging on tonight’s performance Randy Jackson should be the one to go. Where was he? He had barely any presence. Now I know the producers wanted to give Kara a lot of air time so the viewers can get to know her, and Simon is always heavily featured, but Randy needs to step it up.

What did I think of Kara? She looks great, she knows what she is talking about, but can she drop the fake honey, and sweeties?

Anyway the big question of the night surrounds Scott McIntyre the 23 year old blind pianist from Arizona. Would he have gotten through to Hollywood if he could see? Personally I don’t think so. Yes his voice was nice, but there was nothing memorable about it and dare I say it (as Randy didn’t) his voice was a bit pitchy at times. Anyway it was a nice way to end the show.

At the audition there were the usual misfits, emotionally immature, and desperados, but Katrina Darrell managed to surprise me and not just because she was wearing an insy wincy bikini. Which she did look fantastic in – no cellulite issues for her.

I thought she was going to be one of the ditsy joke auditions. But for me she came up with line of the night when she told the show’s host Ryan Seacrest that “We’re going to make out when I get my golden ticket.” Ryan looked like he would rather chop off his right arm then snog her (those gay rumours will just keep circulating) but thought he was safe as he thought Katrina going to Hollywood was an impossibility.

Well she sang surprisingly well,  and managed to tough it out with Kara and Paula, and she received  the ticket to go to Hollywood.

After that she saunters off to lay one on Ryan. If she gets booted out of Hollywood she does deserve a small role on a sitcom.

Emily Wynne who sang a Heart song got through to Hollywood, which meant she would have to tell her band that she was unable to go on the European tour. By losing their lead singer it meant the rest of the band were unable to go. I think the only way they are going to forgive her is if she makes top 12.

It was a good start to Idol, less bad auditions, and more interesting characters. Also Simon looked very relaxed and happy considering he has said he hated the audition process. I wonder if his newly single status has anything to do with it.

Jessica Mauboy Is Now Single.
Adelaide Now says that Jessica Mauboy three year relationship with her boyfriend Abdullah is now over. Time apart is the reason given. However she can console herself with the news that her single Burn is number ten on the charts. Source The West.

Simon Cowell Judgement Gets Clouded By Sex
Now Mag quotes Simon Cowell’s ex girlfriend Sinitta who says his judgement is clouded by sex. Personally I think this is way to much information.

Sinitta appears to keep her media profile high by gibbering about her famous ex all the time. He must not care as she is holidaying with him in Barbados. I wonder what she will divulge from there.

Kara DioGuardi The New Judge On American Idol Has Hit The Publicity Trail
New judge Kara DioGuardi is now out spruiking the show that will be commencing next week. She thinks the male contestants may have the edge this season. Full interview here.

Top Chef Chicago Chef Spike Is Holding a Burger Presidential Inaugeration Party.
Spike, who really should get his own show with his off sider from Top Chef Season Four Andrew. Who would ever forget Andrew saying about Spike “I am not gay but I would let him bang me.”
Anyway he is holding a more relaxed inauguration party at his Burger Joint in DC.

If you are lucky enough to be in Washington at that time the details are here.

Updates On What Top Chef Contestant’s Are Now Up To.
People mag has an article which outlines what some of the chefs are now up to, and where they are cooking.

Also Adventurous Tastes Blog reviews Top Chef Chicago runner up Richard Blais’s new burger restaurant in Atlanta, and gives it the thumbs up. I am not sure about the Krispy Kreme milkshake.

America’s Next Top Model Cycle 10 Winner Whitney Thompson Honoured.
Whitney who was the first plus size model to win ANTM has named as one of MSN Lifestyles Most Influential Women In 2008.

Natalie Bassingthwaite To Perform At Mardi Gras Party.
You know you have made it in Sydney when you are asked to perform at the Mardi Gras party. Congratulation to So You Think You Can Dance Australia host Natalie Bassingthwaite as she will get to shimmy and sing there. Full story in here.

Update On What Former Australian Idol Marty Simpson Has Been Doing
I’m With The Band has an update on he who went much further then he should have, Marty Simpson, and what he has been doing post Idol, apart from smoking pot.

Is Paula Abdul accusing American Idol producers putting her in harms way by allowing her now dead stalker Paula Goodspeed to audition for the show some sort of publicity stunt to get people to watch the new season of Idol? (Previous post on Paula flipping out here.)

With Idol ratings falling in 2008 this could be a strategy to get people interested in the soon to be starting eight season.

This allowed the former producer of Idol Nigel Lythgoe to then come out and defend the show generating more publicity.

Will this supposed conflict bring in the punters? If it doesn’t American Idol producers have made other changes to the show.

Reality TV Mag writes about the changes. They include:

• A fourth judge – Kara DioGuardi a songwriter is now a judge, possibly increasing Paula’s paranoia.
• Fewer audition weeks featuring “fewer bad singers and more “˜aspirational’ singers”;
• Instead of a Top 24, the show will feature a Top 36 which will eventually be narrowed down to 12.
• The Wild Card round will return while the charity-based Idol Gives Back isn’t on the schedule for this season.

Fox 8 will be screening American Idol fasttracked from the US from the 14 January 2009.

Anyway you make your own judgement on whether Paula has gone loopy or if it is a publicity stunt by looking at the You Tube clip above.